Class A Preview: Team Capsules
The state tournament field is set. Here’s a quick breakdown about each team in the field:
(1)Minneapolis North
The Polars are the heavy favorite to take home the Class A state title once again and showed how formidable they are by demolishing two quality teams in their section tournament. Minneapolis North beat Cristo Rey Jesuit by 43 in the Section 4A semifinal before beating Prairie Seeds Academy by 77 points in the section final.
The most athletic team in Class A, the Polars excel at speeding teams up and overwhelming them with defense and transition prowess. They’ve got a great blend of size and depth, and to this point, only the elite teams in the entire state have been able to play with them.
Isaac Johnson is one of the top players in the state, averaging 23.4 points and 6.7 rebounds. At 6-foot-5, he’s an incredibly difficult player to defend because he can physically overwhelm smaller wings by also blow by bigger posts.
JaQuan Sanders-Smith is a solid lead guard who can set the pace and get into the paint as well as anybody and Odell Wilson IV is a load inside. Wilson, a 6-foot-6 junior center averages 17 points and 10 rebounds. Tayler Johnson, Nasir El-Amin and Marquis Holloman don’t score a whole lot but all three can change a game with their defensive prowess.
The Polars have wins over Red Lake and Central MN Christian. They’ll play Red Lake in the first round of the tournament Thursday.
(2) Goodhue
The runner-up in Class A to the Polars a year ago, the Wildcats are back in the state field again. Goodhue went 24-3 in the regular season, losing the Hiawatha Valley League championship game to Lake City before winning four section games including a double overtime bout over Rushford-Peterson in the final.
If the Polars’ playing style is on one end of the extreme when it comes to pace, the Wildcats are on the opposite. Goodhue plays an incredibly methodical style, opting to hold the ball and execute as long as it takes to get the shot it wants on just about every possession.
Jacob McNamara keys their offense from the inside. He leads the team in scoring at about 13 points per game but his ability to facilitate from the mid and high post areas of the floor make him particularly valuable. He’s a great decision maker inside and also anchors their defense.
Ben Opsahl is another seasoned veteran for the Wildcats and is their best perimeter scorer. He’s extremely long and does a great job scoring without demanding a high volume of shots.
Taylor Buck is the team’s best shooter and might be their most explosive scorer as he can get hot from 3-point range and put up points in a hurry – or at least a hurry as far as Goodhue is concerned. Nicholas Thomforde, Lucan Thomforde and Sam Opsahl round out the team’s rotation. Just a freshman, Sam Opsahl is a player to watch in the future as he’s got a really nice skillset and physical profile as a potential wing at the next level.
The Wildcats play Lake Park-Audubon in the first round.
(3) Central Minnesota Christian
The Bluejays finished third in the state tournament last year, losing to Goodhue in the state semis and many of the key guys from that team are back.
Ethan Brouwer is one of the top forwards in the tournament and his ability to score inside and out makes him a tough matchup. Brouwer averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds on the year and will play at Dordt College. Matthew Van Eps is a solid point guard who balances scoring with a sound all-around floor game. He averaged 13.4 points and 3.7 assists while knocking down 49 3-pointers. He’ll play at Dordt College as well.
Austin Marcus is a solid big man averaging 12 points and 7.5 rebounds while Tanner Stoel, Jaxon Schwitters, Aaron Zwart and Carter Henry round out the rotation. Stoel is a jack-of-all-trades wing who can shoot the ball, facilitate the offense and defend. Henry is a player to watch going forward for the Bluejays as a forward prospect as he’s just a sophomore and has gotten better and better with more time this year.
A big key for the CMC will be its ability to knock down perimeter shots. Van Eps, Schwitters, Brouwer and Stoel have all hit at least 20 triples this year and all of them shoot at 38 percent from distance.
The Bluejays play North Woods in the first round.
(4) Nevis
The Tigers survived a marathon of a game, defeating Browerville/Eagle Valley 55-52 in the section final game to earn a trip to state after missing out last season.
Griffin Chase is the go-to guy for a Tigers team that has a lot of collective youth. Chase is the school’s all-time leading scorer, averaging more than 20 points. Chase stuffs the stat sheet with rebounds and assists as well. Jack and Michael Landquist give the Tigers two more double-figure scorers.
Nevis enters the state tournament with an impressive 28-1 record which includes wins over Red Lake, Browerville/Eagle Valley, Cass Lake-Bena and Mountain Iron-Buhl.
The Tigers allow just 44 points per game, which is one of the best marks in Class A.
They open the tournament with fifth-seeded Springfield.
(5) Springfield
Want a team that can pile up points? Springfield is the team to watch. The Tigers average 82 points per game – good for fourth-most in Class A. The Tigers scored at least 90 points nine times.
Springfield won 24 games in the regular season and had to overcome a double-digit deficit to take down Cedar Mountain/Comfrey in the Section 2A final.
Isaac Fink is a player to watch for the Tigers. One of the best players in the 2019 class, Fink is a dynamic scorer who can dominate a game on both ends of the court. He averaged 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists to go along with nearly four steals per game. Tanner Vogel is another player to watch. A junior swingman, Vogel averaged 14.5 points, five rebounds and four assists. Kale Meendering put up more than 15 points and Decker Scheffler averages 10.5 points and six rebounds.
The Tigers average more than 20 assists per game as a team.
IF there’s a question about Springfield, it starts on the defensive side of the floor where the Tigers give up 58 points per game. That’s the most of any team in the state tournament and while some of that is pace related, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll be able to put together stops and grind out a win if they are forced to.
Springfield opens the tournament with fourth-seeded Nevis
North Woods
The Grizzlies are a bit of an unknown to a lot of folks heading into the state tournament given they are a bit tucked away up north but they’ve had an outstanding season.
With just one loss to a very good Virginia team, the Grizzlies have a lot of potential to do well at the state tournament.
Cade Goggleye is a name to know as the sophomore guard is one of the top players in the 2018 class. He averaged about 20 points per game on the year and scored 37 in the team’s win over Virginia – probably the Grizzlies’ best win on the season. Goggleye also averages about six assists and five steals per game. George Bibeau is a solid big man inside, averaging 10 points and seven rebounds. Tate Olson and Brendan Parson give the Grizzlies two more quality perimeter scorers, averaging 15 and 13 points per contest respectively.
North Woods takes on Central MN Christian in the first round.
Lake Park-Audubon
Lake Park-Audubon makes a return trip to state tournament after beating Norman County East in the section semis and Ortonville in the section final.
The starting point for the Raiders is 6-foot-10 center Jesse Bergh. Bergh was a monster in the team’s section run, scoring 50 points against Waubun, 25 against Norman County East and 27 against Ortonville. He’s a force inside and there aren’t many Class A teams that can contend with him in there without dramatically altering their defensive scheme.
Grant Pederson and Mitch Hall are the Raiders’ top perimeter scorers and Mike Vohnoutka had a big game in the section final game, scoring 21 points and hitting four triples. The key for the Raiders will be knocking down outside shots because with Bergh inside, opportunities will be abound.
The Raiders get second-seeded Goodhue to open the state tournament.
Red Lake
Red Lake might be the most explosive offensive team in Class A and the Warriors get to open the tournament with Minneapolis North, the team it lost to in the state semis a year ago.
Red Lake lost to the Polars by eight earlier in the season.
The Warriors go as Robert McClain goes. The senior forward leads the team in points (16.8), rebounds (11.6), assists (7.9), steals (5.7) and blocks (2.9). Jamie Cook averages 16.6 points and 4.6 assists while knocking down 42 percent of his 3-pointers. Kendall Whitefeather and Robert Beaulieu Iii both average double-figures in scoring as well.
The Warriors play at a blistering pace and aren’t afraid to put up shots if only to speed the game up. That can be a double-edged sword though as they allow more than 55 points per game. That’s not a bad number by any means but at that pace, against a team like the Polars or another high-end Class A opponent, there’s the potential to get in a hole early.